test

little man zapped II, originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

Cloud computing sounds partially dull, partially too techy to be interesting but it’s another thing that’s made my life easier.

It’s all about having all the info I need wherever I am. A lot of my personal data is stored in the Google cloud. For instance, all of my contacts are centralised in google mail. Emails as well as phone numbers, addresses, etc. are all stored there. I’ve recently amalgamated all my contacts to the one location – in the Google cloud. I can access these contacts via my phone (which, thanks to it being Android) automatically synchronises with ‘the cloud’ – ie if add a new contact on my phone, it automatically backs up to the cloud and I can access it via any online computer. My diary is synchronised with my Google Diary so if I put something in my outlook calandar at work it automatically gets onto my Google calendar which I can view and edit on any online computer as well as on my phone.

Google Docs is another one. Everything from spreadsheets, word processed documents, presentations, files, PDF’s etc – I can access them all from where ever I am – create, edit, save ahd share them all from the cloud.

For bigger files / zips / folders of content, I’ve been using Microsoft Sky Drive – which does what it says on the tin – provides your own ‘hard drive’ (where you can securely store what ever you need) in the Microsoft cloud.

I’ve been doing it for years to some degree – keeping my photo album online – flickr. Every time I get a good photo I’ll stick it up on flickr. I’ve not got nearly 5000 photos up there that I can search and retrieve.

I do the same thing with my bookmarks. Google chrome has just enabled synchronised Google bookmarking recently and although the phone end of this isn’t quite as neat, I can still access my bookmarks / save a new bookmark where ever I am.

I’ve been doing the same thing with my tasks (using the Remember The Milk - the only paid for app out of all the cloud things I use) tool as mentioned in an earlier blog and recently I’ve discovered snaptic / (and it’s phone ‘notes’ interface) 3 banana – a brilliant tool that’s essentially a private blog where you can mash down thoughts (from your browser / phone ) and they save on a personal blog page ready for you to copy / paste / edit / use later – I’m at this moment sketching this idea out in snaptic with the idea of tidying it up and blogging with it later.

It’s all good and by and large, its all free.

Just a quick test of a remote blog process using 'color note'. It's is a good little app for Android. I like the dictionary expansions and the quick share functions enabling me to quickly blog from phone.

Been liking the format of good photo and a few words as per the recent 4. Am going to try and get back into regular bloggage again this year.

Sent from my HTC

Ice Marlin, originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

The longest cold snap for 10/25/30 years (depending on which publication you read) continues. It’s above zero for a lot less time than below – causing some rather cool (if you’ll pardon the pun) natural ice sculpture.

This ‘Ice Marlin’ as I’ve called it is right next to our front door.

WINTER SALE, originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

The view from my house this morning. This was shot a couple of hours ago now and it’s still snowing! deepest it’s ever been as far as I can remember in Harrogate.

FIRE Christmas Bash ’09 photo set, originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

Just uploaded the photos from the FIRE Christmas bash of last Sunday. What a fantastico night it was. I love that venue and the crowd seems to like it as well! Top show from the venue organizing it so that we didn’t have to charge on the door – allowing us to collect loads of dosh for OXFAM instead. Thanks y’all!

Superb on the music front. I thought the freeflow jam with Dalmation Kebab up front worked really well, blending into my set (brazilian stuff and percussion) into Cloudbass’s stuff into Dharma’s stuff (which was knock out in association with The Juice Loose Horns brass trumping over the top). Christopher Xtopher’s (“Christopher Crosstopher’s”) set was something else. I like the fact that that man travells the globe as a musical journalist. He picks up vibes and tunes on the way treating the last two FIRE party punters to a refinement of the afore mentioned. Johnny Kendall stood on a stool to play his brilliant set giving him a birds eye view of a room of people with massive grins on their heads loving the night.

Upstairs the texture was totally different – breaks and mashed up stuff introduced by a down and dirty funk set from Mr Leadbetter followed up by a live and DJ set from the mighty 601 who have not played a gig in Harrogate for 9 years. Crowned by FIRE old favorite Si Hudson who mashed up the room with his scratched breaks and drum and bass. Stonking fun. 42 photos here.

FIRE Christmas bash, originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

That’s the FIRE line up sorted – Really looking forward to it. Two rooms of fun – yes, you can get on the guest list!

Sophie inc., originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

We have all been ill at Dragondrop. I feared the worst on Friday and hit the panic button with Sophie as she was showing Swine Flu symptoms but turned out to be a B list flu. We all had a go on it over the course of the last 6 days. Not much fun. Quite fuzzy in the head department still. I did shoot this lovely pic of Sophie though yesterday showing full recovery (the green is an effect on the camera phone I was playing with , not her being ill)

Tonight we watched The Shipping News. Far too short a time has elapsed after reading the fantastic book so we were picking a lot of holes in it, but a good film none the less.

Anyway, quick bit of a read for me then sleeps.

I have got a huge reading list to plough through at the moment. Good for when (like now) insomnia rears its annoying head.
Currently on with 'Moby Dick'. This is (so far, up to chapter 4) a great read and a deservedly proud holder of the 'all time classic' title.
Just had an email from the free Amazon (or public lending library, as its also called) telling me that 'Lord Hornblower' is ready for me to collect. This book is the penultimate in (9/10 ish ) the Horatio Hornblower series. What an unexpectedly brilliant journey its been. A brilliant, intelligent and very human character who's British Naval career is tracked from Midshipman through to Lord, around the time Bonaparte was attempting to take over the Northern Hemisphere (who, if it hadn't of been for the likes of Hornblower and the Navy we had at the time, probably would of succeeded.)
Also lined up to read, 'Netherland' (started, pretty good so far telling a tale of a stranded in New York Dutch cricketer.) , 'Pies and Prejudice' – also started – a satirical view of the north of England, its semi sequel 'Cider with Roadies' both by all round interesting guy Stuart Macone.  To finish off with I've got 'The Road' and another book by Cormac McCarthy. Hoping these are as good as the reputation which precedes them.
I suppose I'd better get cracking really…

Sent from my HTC

Just got a new phone. A HTC Hero or G2 touch as its also called. So would I be able to blog from my new phone ? surely that must be a factor. The keyboard is quick enough, once you get used to it. Hardly any mistakes to go back on and the auto corrections and guess wording is good. the fact it is qwerty is good with the natural flow of things. I am writing this on a superb little Ap. Called Color Note which is part of a family of ape called Colordict. full dictionary, thesaurus and Wikipedia tools merged in. Very clever stuff.
I also think some of the camera / GPS tagging stuff will come in handy. One step at a time though. There. Word test.. check!

Sent from my HTC

Spotty Brolly 2, originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

Just uploaded a bunch of photos from the Fireworks display on The Stray in Harrogate last weekend. It rained for the entire thing so it made taking photos a bit harder than normal but I managed to get a few shots of the event.

Apart from this, Its been busy busy. Had old friends Dark and Sticky over for the weekend with their bin lids. Good food good fun. Done a bit of geocaching including the placing of a brand new one – litterally on the Yorkhire Lancashire border near Earby. I’m fairly sure one half of the box is in Lanc’s, the other Yorkshire. I’ve called it Straddling The Border.

autumn oak leaf, originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

I’ve decided I quite like Autumn now that I recognise it as not just the bit between summer and winter. Just went out for a lovely walk – it was t-shirt weather – beautiful still day round Earby. Stunning colours on things like this oak leaf.

24/10/2009, originally uploaded by DragonDrop.

He’s 11. That came round quick. The fantastic cake pictured here was a wholeheartedly chocolaty number, featuring the word FELIX. It didn’t take long for it to say F_LI >, followed by F_l , followed by . .

He had a sleep over with his best friends. 1am was the last time I tried to tell them to stop talking and get some sleep. Much fun. He got a watch and with saved / clubbed together birthday money he got a PSP 3000, and Grand Tourismo (a heavy chunk of my influence on that title it’s got to be said). I’m just about to make Brown Windsor Soup (one of his faves) and we’re off out for Chinese tonight.